24 Genius Ways to Use Pool Noodles in Your Classroom

We love pool noodles! They’re bright, colorful, and make great manipulatives in reading, math, and beyond. Plus, this time of year, they’re so inexpensive to buy (you can even get them in bulk and shipped for free). Here are some of our favorite uses for pool noodles in the classroom.

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1. Practice phonics with pool noodle phonics.

Reading practice is always more fun with manipulatives. This is the original project we did for creative pool noodle uses at WeAreTeachers, and you all loved it! You can easily change it up to meet your classroom’s specific needs. Get the full instructions and watch the video here.

2. Teach different parts of speech.

Now take that phonics lesson a step further to teach the parts of speech to older kids. We used these paper towel holders we picked up on Amazon to turn this into an easy classroom learning station. Students can work independently to stack their sentences. They just choose words from different noodle colors as they learn the different parts of speech. We put them in this cute chevron fabric bin, making it easy for teachers to store.

3. Encourage spelling with word rods.

Here’s another take on phonics if you want to get a little more involved. There are some great ideas for how to use these for both reading and math.

15. Create a DNA model.

This is an amazing way to bring science into your classroom.

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16. Give your students a stress reliever.

Forget fidget spinners or stress balls. This school counselor came up with a clever idea for creating stress/fidget manipulatives using a pool noodle. Talk about a great deal. You can get more than 50 with just one noodle!

17. Simplify fractions.

All you need are two different color noodles to make your own fraction game for students to practice. Our WeAreTeachers article has a great video showing how to do it.

18. Teach students musical notes.

This music teacher got creative by putting notes on pool noodle pieces and turning them into a learning opportunity. The frame comes from that popular backyard Ladder Ball game or PVC piping from the hardware store. Just apply the noodles, and you’re done!

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19. Build fine motor skills.

Practice those fine motor skills with cut up noodles and a few other manipulatives.